In this issue: The Horseplayer Monthly August 2018 Issue

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2 In this issue: The Horseplayer Monthly August 2018 Issue Kentucky Downs back w/lower Pick4 T/O Page 1 Q & A with CJ Johnsen Page 2 Kentucky Downs Handle Trends - Page 4 Common Sense Solutions Page 5 Kentucky Downs Stats Pack Pages 6 & 17 Belmont: What to Watch for Page 12 Handling Inquiries Better Page 14 Takeout lowered for Breeders Crown Page 15 Kentucky Downs has lowered the takeout on its Pick 4 wager from 19 to 14 percent for its upcoming meet starting Saturday, September 1, further reducing what already was the country s lowest overall cost for placing bets. I think that s awesome, said Jeff Platt, president of the Horseplayers Association of North America, which has ranked Kentucky Downs its No. 1 track for the past three years. I m at a loss for words, it s that awesome. The Pick 4 is hugely popular among players, insanely popular. Having a 14-percent Pick 4 is huge. America s most unique race meet runs Sept. 1, 6, 8, 9 and 13 over the country s only European-style race course. Kentucky Downs offers among the world's highest average-daily purses at $2 million a day for that five-date run as well as the highest average field sizes in North America,11 horses per race last year. The low takeout combined with big fields is what puts Kentucky Downs on top, Platt said. Takeout is the amount of each dollar wagered that comes off the top before winning bettors are paid. That money goes toward horsemen s purses, the racetrack and parimutuel taxes. The Pick 4 is a 50-cent minimum wager where horseplayers seek to have in a single combination the winners of the four consecutive races comprising the bet. At 14 percent, the Kentucky Downs Pick 4 is among the lowest in the country. By comparison, most major tracks are at least 20 percent, some 24 percent or higher. Racing at Kentucky Downs Equisport Photos We want to be known as the horseplayers racetrack, said C.J. Johnsen, Kentucky Downs director of broadcasting and interstate wagering. In keeping with that goal, we felt a reduction in our Pick 4 takeout was warranted. The low takeout combined with our field size and quality should boost pool sizes even more to make it one of the best and most attractive wagers in racing. Going from 19 to 14 percent reflects a 26-percent reduction in the cost of the bet. Kentucky Downs has been widely praised for lowering the cost of betting, while under state regulations the track could assess a takeout on multi-horse bets as high as 22 percent. Nineteen percent is the highest of any wager at Kentucky Downs. That s a big drop, for sure, Ray Arsenault, winner of the 2017 National Horseplayers Championship, said of the Pick 4. That s great for the horseplayers. It s like a rebate. I play the Pick 4 all the time. That s one of our main bets. Kentucky Downs also has a 14-percent takeout on its Pick 5 wager, with its percent rate on the popular exacta bet and 16-percent takeout on win, place and show wagering among the lowest in the country. The minimum wager is 50 cents for the trifecta, Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 5 and Super Hi-5; $1 for exactas and daily double; $2 for win, place and show, and 10 cents for the superfecta. Said Platt: It s an incredibly enjoyable handicapping and betting experience. --press release (Jennie Rees)--

3 CJ Johnsen, Kentucky Downs director of broadcasting and interstate wagering Q: Despite already having a great takeout score, you decided to lower the rake on the pick 4 from 19% to 14% for the meet. What went into that decision? A: My favorite horizontal wager is the pick 4. Pick 5s are tough to hit and sometimes, it s hard to find value in a pick 3. I love playing the Southern California late pick 4s because of their pool sizes, and I hope we can grow the Kentucky Downs pick 4 pools to similar sizes. Last year, our pick 4 pools averaged over $180,000 and got as high as $350,000. Hopefully by lowering the takeout, we can increase the pool size and be more attractive to pick 4 players. expect to handle $8.4 million on our big Saturday so it was nice surprise. I would be happy if we were up about 15-20%. We handled $30.2 million over five days in 2017 so I don t want my expectations to be too high. Q: Any new faces in the trainer or jockey colony we can expect this year? A: I have noticed a lot more trainers coming in from California. Doug O Neill, Peter Miller, Mick Ruis, and Dan Blacker have nominated quite a few this year. They are joining their fellow Californians Richard Baltas, Phil D Amato, Richard Mandella, and the great Neil Drysdale. Also, Todd Pletcher is back for the first time in a couple of years so that is good to see. Q: On Twitter you explained the challenges that being a short, boutique meet, plus the unique course present for producing and broadcasting the races. Can you describe for everybody that process? A: When you only run five days a year, it is difficult to get into a rhythm with your staff. A lot changes over a year and I never have the same crew every year. The first day is usually a little rough (see the infamous tree shot in the first race last year) because people that have never filmed there are getting used to the unique course. Multiple camera angles are used where only one is used at most tracks. So, on the first day I try to be very hands on making sure that our TV crew understands what we need to do to give everyone the best product. Every year we make improvements and this year we added another HD camera for the paddock and low level finish line shot. Just to keep Twitter happy, we may or may not be experimenting with a drone this year. Q: Handle was up a record 34 percent last year. Did you expect that big a spike and what's your goal on the business side this meet? A: One of the reasons we were up was because of the hurricanes. Well, it hurt us because we had to cancel a Saturday and run on a Wednesday. But, it helped us because Gulfstream cancelled which gave us more eyes. We are making sure that we set our post times different every day by a couple of minutes to avoid running on top of New York, Florida, and California. We definitely didn t Todd Pletcher is among the big-name trainers who could have horses at the Kentucky Downs meet Norm Files photo Q: How are the Kentucky Turf Cup and your other stakes races looking, and how excited are you for the new juvenile turf stake? A: All of the stakes nominations came up very strong. Mike Maker dominated the Turf Cup noms with what looks like a strong contingent. But, there are also quite a few nice turf horses from California and New York nominated. The Juvenile Turf Sprint is going to be a fun race that hopefully propels some horses to Keeneland s Juvenile Turf Sprint and then on to the Breeders Cup. Even though these juveniles are lightly-raced, there are some stakes winners who nominated so we can only hope that they decide to run. 2

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5 Year #3 Kentucky Downs 2014 v By Jeff Platt, HANA President For those of you who may not be aware, prior to their 2013 meet, Kentucky Downs approached HANA with the idea of lowering their exacta takeout from 19 percent to percent. They asked if we would help promote the decrease in takeout by getting the word out to as many horseplayers as possible. We thought it was a great idea and were happy to help. So how did it work out? Kentucky Downs has seen record handle in each of the ensuing five years and has more than tripled their handle in that time. Keep in mind that this came about by taking the novel approach of asking a horseplayers association to help them promote a three quarter point drop in exacta takeout. Below are tables showing side by side handle comparisons for each successive Kentucky Downs meet over the past five years. Note that Kentucky Downs has more than tripled their handle during that period. This, despite losing races due to weather -- and despite being forced to cancel an opening day Saturday race card due to weather and run it on a Wednesday. Year #1 Kentucky Downs 2012 v UP $1.02 Million +6.06% This, despite having to cancel after just two races on their Thursday Sept 10, 2015 card. Year #4 Kentucky Downs 2015 v UP $5.76 Million +34.2% Year #5 Kentucky Downs 2016 v UP $7.35 Million % UP +$5.2 Million % This, despite having to cancel after just four races on their on their Wednesday Sept 11, 2013 card. Year #2 Kentucky Downs 2013 v This, despite losing their opening day Saturday September 2nd, 2017 card to weather - which they rescheduled and ran on Wednesday September 6th. There you have it: Kentucky Downs has achieved year over year growth for five consecutive years -- more than tripling their handle in that time -- despite losing races to weather -- and despite being forced to cancel their opening day 2017 Saturday race card due to weather and run it on a Wednesday. A horseplayer recently asked me: "If there's one thing you would tell Keeneland they need to be doing different what would that be?" If you ask me, they need to be doing exactly what Kentucky Downs did back in UP $3.04 Million % 4

6 Get in the game with Derby Wars as Kentucky Downs kicks off its 2018 meet on Saturday! The highest-rated track in the country for horseplayers is a great spot for contest players to flex their muscle and cash in! Play Derby Wars' $1,000 Kentucky Downs Survivor every day of the meet for your shot at cold, hard cash and bragging rights. With huge fields of all-turf racing, Kentucky Downs is where the strong (and lucky!) survive! You can get in the game for just $5.75. Kentucky Downs Survivor is also a JACKPOT contest, which means a BONUS if there is a single survivor. This jackpot rolls over each day there are multiple survivor winners, so there's potential for a big bonus by the end of this short meet. Derby Wars will also present other favorite games throughout the meet, like the $750 Top 3 Split, $500 Early Game, and the stakes races will be included in the Saturday $10,000 contests in September. Looking for an edge in Kentucky Downs Survivor? Here are a few tips picked up from 2017: Mike Maker is a wizard at Kentucky Downs, posting an incredible 39% in-the-money record last year from only 46 starters. Combined with trainer Mike Maker, Ken and Sarah Ramsey took home the leading owner title with a 47% inthe-money record. Julien Leparoux was tops among jockeys in both money won (over $1 million) and in-the-money finishes (55%). Looking past the obvious top players, Jose Lezcano only had 10 rides in 2017 but hit the board with 7 of them. Rising star trainer Joe Sharp only entered 12 last season, but he finished on the board 5 times (25%). Kentucky Downs is a European-style course, meaning this isn't your basic oval with golf course greens. The course has undulations (hills and valleys) and a wide, sweeping turn into the long home stretch. Get in the game and play Kentucky Downs Survivor this season with Derby Wars! By Cangamble Problem: Horse racing's gambling base is not growing Solution: Young people like to gamble, whether on fantasy, e-sports or poker. However, to attract them, horse racing has to appear to be beatable in the long run by at least a few. High takeout rates make this pretty much impossible. No takeout rate should be higher than 15%. WPS takeout rates should not exceed 12%. This will also put almost every gambler on an equal playing field with each other as rebates won t be required to keep handle up. Players will last longer (which means more fun for the customer), some will even win long run, and they will tell their friends about it. Problem: Great horses don't stick around very long. Solution: Horses cannot start breeding until they are at least six years old. Let s see how many retire at three if that rule is implemented. Problem: Super trainers discourage gamblers and other horsemen Solution: Allow only five or six drugs and treatments. Those caught using anything not on the list will get harsh penalties, no more wrist slaps. Problem: Horses don't race enough and field size could use improvement. Solution: Lasix and other drugs are most likely the major culprit here. If you eliminate Lasix, maybe five percent of today's racing population may not be able to race; however, the remaining 95 percent will be less drained after every race, and will be able to make more starts. Also, if the industry set up a standard where, for example, races where six or less betting interests start only runs for 90 percent of the purse, and races with nine or more horses run for 125 percent of the purse, we might see a nice boost in field size. Problem: An adult in Texas, Georgia, Hawaii, and many other states can't legally bet on horse racing online, but they can bet on horses with online bookies and they can also bet on sports and fantasy sports either legally or illegally. Solution: It is hard to grow the game and grow handle if you exclude potential players from the parimutuel pools. Horse racing should be aggressive in lobbying for total internet exposure. 5

7 Please note that these statistics have been cut down to save space a full text file of the stats pack is available here. Jockeys in Turf Sprints ( ) 6

8 Trainers in Turf Sprints ( ) 7

9 Jockeys in Turf Routes ( ) 8

10 Trainers in Turf Routes ( ) Additional statistics are available on the Back Page Starting on Page 17 9

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12 Jockey7 Wager Back at Kentucky Downs Continuing on talking about the meet at Kentucky Downs, one of horse racing Twitter s favorite bets, the Jockey7, is returning for another meet at the Franklin, Kentucky, track. Kentucky Downs was proud to have launched one of the first new bets in years, said C.J. Johnsen, Kentucky Downs director of broadcasting and interstate wagering. Any time you create a new wager, there is a learning curve. We were very encouraged with the Jockey7's first run last year, and greatly appreciate the work of InCompass and Equibase in further enhancing the technology of the wager. For additional details on what exactly the Jockey7 wager is and how it will be determined each race day, click here. Purse Boost for WHHC The 2019 edition of the World Harness Handicapping Championship, which will occur at the Meadowlands on April 6, will carry an increased purse of $150,000. The WHHC is presented by Derby Wars. DerbyWars.com continues to be a terrific partner for the World Harness Handicapping Championship, said Rachel Ryan, Marketing Manager at Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment. With their support we have been able to grow WHHC participation and prize pool. With 100% of entry fees returned as prizes, the WHHC offers tremendous value to our players. More details on the WHHC, including a schedule of qualifiers, is available by clicking here. Accelerate Tops Breeders Cup Classic Future Pool Coming off his win in the TVG Pacific Classic, Accelerate was the 3-1 favorite when the first Breeders Cup Classic future wager pool closed on August 26. Kentucky Oaks and multiple G1 winner Monomoy Girl was also the 3-1 choice in the Breeders Cup Distaff Future Wager. Future wagering on the Juvenile and Juvenile Sires is now open. More on this story is available here, and to see the entire list of prices on the Classic and Distaff, click here. Gulfstream Jockey Suspended for Not Persevering Jockey Tony Maragh was handed a 60-day ban and a $1,000 fine, the maximum punishment under the rules, for not persevering on his mount Musical Heart in the fourth race on Sunday, August 19 at Gulfstream Park. Trainer Aubrey Maragh was also sent off the grounds by officials until an internal investigation is completed. More on this story, including a video showing the incident in question, is available here. Travers Handle Record Saratoga had their first-ever $50 million handle Travers Day when the all-sources number came in at $52,086,597. This was a 4.9 percent increase over the previous highwater mark, set back in Travers Day All-sources: $52,086,597 On-track: $11,466, Travers Day All-sources: $47,870,987 On-track: $10,862, Travers Day All-sources: $45,596,367 On-track: $10,778, Travers Day All-sources: $49,668,754 On-track: $11,472,451 Del Mar Also Hits Handle High on Pacific Classic Day Del Mar had its highest-ever non-breeders Cup handle day on August 18 when the Pacific Classic program saw $25,969,128 wagered on the card. Their previous-best day occurred on Pacific Classic Day in 2016 when $25,126,232 was wagered. Handle throughout the meet at Del Mar has been strong, and the track was chosen to host the 2021 Breeders Cup. 11

13 By Mike Adams September means that the kids are back to school, football is back, baseball is in the homestretch and NYRA switches back downstate to Belmont. After racing six days a week for six full weeks at Saratoga, the action starts back up at Belmont for 36 racing days starting on September 7. The first two weeks of the meet feature racing three days a week and the rest of the meet has racing five days a week. Preparing for a shift to Belmont requires some of the same preparation that we did in getting ready for Saratoga. Belmont has some of its own unique configurations and trends that play out every fall, so it s important to look at some of the historical trends from the last few fall meets. Track Configurations: Dirt: When racing moves from the Spa to Big Sandy, one of the first things to take note of is the different distances and configurations that take place at Belmont. The previous meet at Saratoga has one-turn dirt sprints up to seven furlongs and two-turn routes only at 1 1/8 miles. With Belmont being 1 1/2 half miles in circumference, suddenly you have one-turn races all the way from five furlongs to 1 1/8 miles. Each fall meet at Belmont presents good wagering opportunities for horses who excel at oneturn one-mile races and one-turn routes at 1 1/16 miles or longer. Both types of dirt races were not run at Saratoga because of track configuration. The entries at Saratoga are filled with horses racing at seven furlongs and 1 1/8 miles on dirt because they don t have options at one mile or at 1 1/16 miles. It pays to take an extra look at these Belmont dirt races and try to see if horses who didn t run well at Saratoga now find themselves in one-turn races at Belmont that may allow them to turn around their form and fire their best races. You will also see several successful turn-backs at Belmont, with horses exiting 1 1/8 miles races at Saratoga excelling at Belmont at races that are a one-turn mile. Watch out for these horses and others with proven success running well at Belmont in the past. Grass: Just like the main track at Belmont, the two turf tracks at Belmont also differ dramatically from the two turf tracks at Saratoga. Belmont allows horses to run turf races at six furlongs, seven furlongs and one-turn grass races at one mile. Races at 1 1/16 miles on grass also feature more sweeping turns at Belmont than you will find at Saratoga due to the Widener (Main) Turf course being 1 5/16 miles and the Inner Turf Course being 1 3/16 miles. In the sprint categories watch out for horses who were forced to run at 5 1/2 furlongs or at one mile at Saratoga. There will be lots of horses who were compromised at Saratoga just because of the turf distances run. Six furlong and seven furlong sprints and those one-turn mile races at Belmont provide a great opportunity for the horse that was just not up to 5 1/2 furlongs on the Mellon or one mile on the Inner at Saratoga. The Saratoga meet was mired by constant bad weather and lots of races were forced to be taken off the turf or run on soft/yielding ground. Many of these horses impacted either ran only once at Saratoga or were forced to run on a turf course that was not firm. Watch out for these horses back at Belmont. Many of these horses are going to improve dramatically when they get back into a rhythm of not missing a start or getting back on a turf course that is firm. The unique configuration of the Inner at Saratoga also led to lots of races with strange fractions. Some favored closers and others favored speed horses who walked the dog on the lead. Some of these compromised horses will be great plays back at Belmont with more reasonable fractions. Both turf courses at Belmont were pretty speed-favoring in the spring, and we could see some dramatic improvements and regressions when racing shifts to Belmont because of how different the turf courses are at Saratoga and Belmont. Trainers: It pays to keep a close eye on the trainer stats at Saratoga as they lead into the fall Belmont meet. Each year there are several trainers who really do well at Belmont in the fall. Some of these are the top stables who do well yearround, but others are barns who lay low at Saratoga and capitalize on the fall meet alone. In 2017 Chad Brown, Bill Mott and Christophe Clement had much better meets at Belmont in the fall than they did at Saratoga. Yes, you read that correctly. Chad Brown had a much better meet at Belmont in 2017 than he did at Saratoga. He won more races, at a higher percentage at Belmont and won an almost equal amount of money at Belmont then he did at (continued on next page) 12

14 Saratoga. Tony Dutrow, John Kimmel, Mark Hennig, and Charlie Baker have also typically done well at Belmont in the fall, so if pays to watch these stables closely. In 2017 Christophe Clement had 13 wins (19 percent winners) after only having four wins (nine percent winners) at Saratoga. His stable did very well in the spring at Belmont, and I would not be surprised if we have a repeat for Clement this fall. This fall I am particularly interested in seeing if a few barns that have struggled at Saratoga can equal what Clement did last year. This group includes Linda Rice (although she has heated up recently at the Spa), George Weaver, Danny Gargan, Bruce Levine and Robertino Diodoro. These five have had limited success at Saratoga and may be in a situation to capitalize on the move back to Belmont. Keep an eye on some of these stables and see if they can get hot. On the reverse there are always stables that peak at Saratoga and struggle more after firing their bullets at the Spa. Last year David Donk, Jeremiah Englehart and Kiaran McLaughlin all saw their winning percentage drop after having excellent Saratoga meets. They still won races at Belmont, but their overall win percentages dropped from what they were doing at Saratoga. Keep a close eye on some of the stables who have done well and see what happens downstate. If they cool their horses could become significant underlays. Jockeys: The fall at Belmont can be a mixed bag on the jockey front as lots of them will be out of town at Keeneland and at other tracks prepping for the Breeders Cup. Last year, Jose Ortiz only had 110 mounts at Belmont in the fall, and Joel Rosario had a big jump in wins from Saratoga to Belmont. You can count on the Ortiz Brothers and Javier Castellano to have strong runs at Belmont. I fully expect Junior Alvarado to have a strong Belmont too. He was coming for injury last year at Saratoga and struggled at Belmont in the fall, but his win total at Saratoga this year, coupled with his strong year, should ensure him many more opportunities at Belmont. Another to watch out for will be David Cohen. He has been getting lots of support at Saratoga and I expect him to have a solid fall at Belmont. In the past Jose Lezcano and Joe Bravo also have been successful at increasing their win totals at Belmont so keep an eye on both of them as well. With lots of top riders missing time at Belmont because of stakes out of town, it pays to see who is riding well and who is picking up the mounts for the top barns when their regular riders are out of town. With racing nearly concluded at Saratoga, the NYRA circuit heads back to Belmont Norm Files photo Conclusion: Saratoga can be a real grind for the stables and the punters with racing six days a week, with difficult races, and lots of horses from outside New York shipping in. Belmont turns things a little back to normal but can also provide the horseplayer some great opportunities Saratoga and Belmont differ significantly in terms of track configuration, distance and surface. Horses who struggle at Saratoga can come to life at Belmont simply by a switch in distance and more one-turn races. Belmont often features some trainers who specialize at this fall meet. Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown will still win lots of races, but in the past names like Mott, Dutrow and Clement have had fantastic runs in the fall at Belmont. Watch to see who gets hot, whose horses are peaking at Belmont and whose horses are tailing off after winning at Saratoga. On the jockey front, see who is getting more rides when some jockeys are out of town and who is increasing their win totals like Joel Rosario did last year. The fall meet at Belmont has some great wagering opportunities. If you spent some significant time playing the races at Saratoga, checking out the fall meet at Belmont can be financially-rewarding if you key in on the right angles and tap into the right hot barns. Enjoy the fall and let s make some money!!! 13

15 By Jonathan Stettin, Past The Wire Too often the Sport of Kings has questions with no answers. On better days we have more questions than we do answers. That s usually not a good place to be. Today I ll talk about an ongoing problem and source of frustration, but I will also suggest a solution, albeit not an original one. Nobody here is looking for credit, just a viable solution. I love international racing. The more I learn about it and study it, the fonder of it I grow. I have always liked it, but don t think I truly appreciated it until I accepted the evolution of racing here in the United States for what it has become. I love the large fields. I love the big spreads in the odds. I love that they run not only uphill but downhill as well. I love that they run the wrong way and that sometimes they just go straight. I love that you get the odds at which you wagered. I love that they primarily train in their own yards. I love that they run with no race day medications, including Lasix, and for the most part it doesn t reduce the field size. I love that they breed and train for stamina and not all speed, speed, speed. I love the competitiveness, wagering opportunities, atmosphere and almost everything else. What l love most is how they deal with inquiries, fouls, and disqualifications. Who among us has not been frustrated by a disqualification they felt was unjust? Who has not witnessed blatant inconsistencies with no acceptable or plausible explanation? Who has not wanted to scream at another, who thought the foul didn t cost the other horse a chance at a better placing? I have written about so many poor decisions and rulings over the years it has grown tiresome. I ve seen way too many people reduce their handle and stop playing certain racetracks, because of mostly inconsistent rulings, but just plain bad and wrong ones also. Earlier this year, world class rider Frankie Dettori missed some very important and significant mounts after his Angel s Hideaway, trained by John Gosden, came under an inquiry following a second-place finish to Pretty Pollyanna in the Dutchess of Cambridge Stakes. Here is how the ruling went down at a hearing; The filly caused interference by moving to her right, pushing Main Edition on to La Pelosa. BHA disciplinary panel chairman David Fish said: "The basis of our finding is he didn't take corrective action sufficiently quickly. We take the view he had sufficient time to take preventative action before he actually did. "We take the view considerable interference was caused to two horses, in particular the ones ridden by Mr. Doyle (Main Edition) and Mr. Buick (La Pelosa). We take into account the period over which this careless riding occurred. Clearly in the United States this would have likely resulted in a disqualification from second-place to at least fourth for Angel s Hideaway. Bettors who needed her for second would be out of luck. They would be penalized for picking the right horse and betting it correctly, when they in fact did nothing wrong. Does anyone see a problem with that? Bettors put up their money, only to have people not putting up money make decisions regarding theirs. Expletive expletive! That doesn t really work for me, and I have seen way too many preposterous calls to trust the right call will be made. In Europe and Japan, they have a different philosophy. They go hard at the rider with fines and suspensions. They don t automatically allow a rider to ride in important stakes while on suspension. They will take away a purse, but rarely a winning ticket. The bettor is valued and protected, and this system results in far less inquiries and careless riding incidents. It reminds me of when NYRA stewards would look at gate fouls, herding and incidents hard, and disqualify a horse when warranted. There was less herding out of the gate. The horses and their tendencies have not changed. It may not be perfect; as there will be times you are cost a placing by a horse that does not get disqualified. We all know that is frustrating, but I think in light of the wild, nonsensical and inconsistent rulings we have seen in the last 10 years or so, it just may be the better way to go. I will take objectivity as opposed to subjectivity every time. 14

16 Brought to you by the Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown All eliminations and finals at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono will have 15 percent across-the-board takeout The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono will offer a 15% across-the-board takeout rate on all available wagers not only on the entire Breeders Crown Finals card, but also on two nights of elimination cards. It s a significant benefit to offer bettors one of the absolute lowest multi-race takeout rates in all of North America, said John Campbell, president and CEO of the Hambletonian Society, which owns and administers the Breeders Crown championship series of races. Adding this incentive to one of racing s most highly anticipated events will make it all the more exciting. The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono and Pennsylvania Harness Horsemen s Association have also partnered with TVG to broadcast key Breeders Crown races, and with Daily Racing Form for live streaming on their website with analysis, past performance pages and commentary, giving fans access free of charge. Set for Saturday, October 27, this will be the third time The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono has hosted the $6 million event, harness racing s richest and most prestigious year-end divisional series. Breeders Crown eliminations for two-year-olds will be raced Friday, October 19 and threeyear-old and open horses will have eliminations, if necessary, on Saturday, October 20. Tickets, dining options and hotel recommendations for the Breeders Crown at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono will be available shortly. Please go to Hambletonian.com or mohegansunpocono.com for more information. (press release) The month of September is a fun one in harness racing every year, and here are some of the upcoming highlights in the sport. On Saturday, we have stakes racing at both Woodbine Mohawk Park and Yonkers, with the Canadian Pacing Derby and Maple Leaf Trot north of the border and the second leg of the Pacing and Trotting Triple Crowns (Messenger and Yonkers Trot) in New York. The Canadian Pacing Derby features the second start in North America for the Wonder from Down Under Lazarus N, who was a winner of the Dan Patch at Hoosier in his first start here. The Maple Leaf Trot has the likes of Ariana G, Hannelore Hanover, and Marion Marauder and should be another good showdown in the open trot ranks. Cane Pace winner Stay Hungry looks to take the second leg of the Pacing Triple Crown in the Messenger, but he will have to overcome post six on the half-mile track, and is up against the likes of impressive elimination winner Jimmy Freight, although he drew even more outside at post eight. On September 15 at Woodbine Mohawk Park we have the finals of the Canadian Trotting Classic (3-year-old open trot) and Elegantimage (3-year-old filly trot), and just like last month with the Hambletonian and Hambletonian Oaks, we ll see what the connections of Atlanta, the Hambletonian-winning filly, and Manchego, the Hambletonian Oaks-winning filly, have in mind. Atlanta and Manchego faced off for the first time this year on August 24 at Woodbine Mohawk Park in the Simcoe Stakes, and Manchego was a decisive winner, tying the track record in the process. Racing at The Red Mile in Lexington, Kentucky, has been going strong with Kentucky Sires Stakes action for2- and 3- year-olds of both sexes and gaits, and those finals are ahead on September 16. If you re looking for something to do in Lexington, there will be some top horses in those races and they re definitely worth checking out. Later that week, we have the Jugette and the Little Brown Jug at the Delaware County Fair in Delaware, Ohio. That race concludes the Pacing Triple Crown, and many of the best 3-year-old pacing males are expected to line up behind the gate. After the Little Brown Jug festivities are concluded, the attention of the harness racing world shifts back to Lexington as their Grand Circuit Meet kicks off on the 27th. Starting things off will be the 2-year-old male trotters in Bluegrass Stakes action, and you ll see more Bluegrass action throughout the rest of that week and weekend. The Red Mile s Grand Circuit Meet continues into early October, and the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale (and their new Mixed Sale) will also be happening in the first part of October, so if you re in or around Lexington, stop in. 15

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18 Kentucky Downs Stats Part 2 Run Style/Gate Draw/Sires/Last Track Raced At ( ) Turf Sprints Run Style Gate Draw 17

19 Turf Sprints Sires 18

20 Turf Sprints Last Track Raced At 19

21 Turf Routes Run Style Turf Routes Gate Draw 20

22 Turf Routes Sires 21

23 Turf Routes Last Track Raced At Reminder If you d like to download the entire stats text file, please click here. 22